Grass Courts - The Championships, Wimbledon 2017 - Official Site by IBM - 54 million grass plants on Centre Court (rough calculation according to a formula) - 77 total hours played on Centre Court The grass The grass plant itself has to survive in this dry soil. Expert research has again shown that a cut height of 8mm (since 1995) is the optimum for present day play and survival. Courts are sown with 100 per cent Perennial Ryegrass (since 2001) to improve durability and strengthen the sward to withstand better the increasing wear of the modern game. Independent expert research from The Sports Turf Research Institute in Yorkshire, UK, proved that changing the grass seed mix to 100 per cent perennial ryegrass (previously 70 per cent rye/30 per cent creeping red fescue) would be the best way forward to combat wear and enhance court presentation and performance without affecting the perceived speed of the court. Perceived speed of a court is affected by a number of factors such as the general compacting of the soil over time, as well as the weather before and during the event.

The ball will seem heavier and slower on a cold damp day and conversely lighter and faster on a warm dry day. The amount a ball bounces is largely determined by the soil, not the grass. The soil must be hard and dry to allow 13 days of play without damage to the court sub-surface. To achieve the required surface of even consistency and hardness, the courts are rolled and covered to keep them dry and firm. Regular measurements are taken to monitor this. There have been no changes to the specification of the ball since 1995, when there was a very minimal alteration in compression. Lines and dimensions Total area of grass on each of Centre and No.1 Courts is 41m x 22m. Singles Court is length 23.77m (78’) x width 8.23m (27’). Doubles Court is length 23.77m (78’) x width 10.97m (36’). Paint is not used to mark the lines on the court. A transfer wheel marker is used to apply a white compound (500 gallons used yearly) containing titanium dioxide to make it durable.

Different Types of Tennis Court Surfaces - Impact on the Casual Player | Columbus Ohio Tennis | Scarborough East | Indoor & Outdoor Tennis Tennis Court Surfaces Posted in: Columbus Ohio Tennis | June 27, 2012 Comments Disabled The four tennis majors are all distinctly different based on their court surface. Wimbledon , the oldest and most prestigious tournament in tennis, is played on 100% rye grass, which is considered slower than other grass courts. Clay courts, where the French Open takes place, is made of crushed shale, stone or brick. The US Open is played on acrylic hard courts while the Australian is played on synthetic hard courts. Followers of tennis are well aware that the strengths and weaknesses of professional players can vary based upon the court surface. Scarborough East Tennis , a Columbus, Ohio indoor and outdoor tennis club , decided to break down the different types of tennis court surfaces for the casual player. Clay courts are the best surface for leg health (ankle, knee and hip). The reasoning for this is the fact that clay has the least traction without sudden slips or grabs of the feet.

The slower surface is also beneficial for players with heavy topspin (such as Nadal) and makes points last longer, which can lead to better rallies and more enjoyable matches. Clay Tennis Courts at the French Open Hard courts benefit the hard-serving player. This type of court, however, calls for a more well rounded strategy. Fast, low bounces keep rallies short and benefit the player looking for a more fast-paced match compared with those who prefer the slowed down action on Clay. The softness of grass makes it relatively easy on the legs. Grass courts tends to produce shorter points and benefits the serve-and-volley tennis player. Low bounces makes getting under the ball to hit topspin passing shots more difficult, and unpredictable bounces add an incentive to hit the ball in the hair. Slice groundstrokes are also rewarded on grass. Different types of court surfaces can certainly affect the casual players’ game. If tennis players focus on the fundamentals that they’ve learned with their private and group tennis lessons in Columbus, Ohio at Scarborough East Tennis, they will be able to master any surface! Comparison of Tennis Court Surfaces | Chron.com Comparison of Tennis Court Surfaces Comparison of Tennis Court Surfaces by Leigh Reason Clay courts allow for slower play.

Hemera Technologies/AbleStock.com/Getty Images [Safety Precautions] | What Are the Safety Precautions for Tennis? Tennis is played on different court surfaces that vary greatly. There are four main types of tennis court surfaces -- carpet, clay, grass and hard surface. Each type has various characteristics that affect speed and style of play, not to mention cost and upkeep, according to the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The four major Grand Slam tournaments are played on varying surfaces and it used to be that players dominated based on a surface type -- as in Pete Sampras' domination on Wimbledon's grass courts. With changes to surface compositions in the last decade, the top players handle all types more easily. Carpet Surface A carpet surface is used for indoor courts and is the least common in tennis. It can be any number of synthetic materials, usually something called Supreme and later on Taraflex, that's like a large rubber mat rolled out over wood or cement to create a tennis surface, sometimes for a special event or a multi-purpose sports center, per the ITF. It was once used in the Masters Championships and the ATP World Championships, though no ATP or WTA tournaments take place on this surface any longer.

There are big tournaments in Asia that still use it, however. It's a fast surface with low-bouncing balls. Clay Courts If you see Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer duking it out on a deep red-colored court, you can instantly identify it as the French Open, played every spring at Roland Garros in Paris. It's the only Grand Slam tournament played on clay, and the largest clay tournament in the world, per the ITF. Clay is considered the slowest surface, with high-bouncing balls; the balls tend to bounce up instead of skidding. It favors those with a baseline game, and not the huge servers with the serve-and-volley style of play. Legendary champion and big server Pete Sampras won 14 Grand Slam titles, but a French Open victory alluded him. A true clay court is crushed shale, stone or brick, and is either deep red or green. Clay requires a lot of upkeep, as it must be frequently watered, rolled and brushed, according to the USTA. Grass Courts The grass court is the fastest surface and is used at the Wimbledon Championships every July.

Up until the 1970s, grass was used at three of the four Grand Slam tournaments, with the exception of the French Open, per the ITF. Grass courts take a lot of maintenance, with reseeding, watering and mowing; thus, you don't see many new grass courts popping up. But if you favor the serve-and-volley style game of Pete Sampras and John McEnroe, grass is your surface. It is an unpredictable surface, though; the bounce of the ball depends on how recently the grass has been mowed, the health of the grass and how much it's previously been played on. Hard Courts Hard courts are the most common at tennis clubs and sports centers for both indoor and outdoor courts. Both the Australian Open and U.S. Open use types of hard court surfaces; the Australian Open uses a synthetic surface called Plexicushion and the U.S. Open uses a product called DecoTurf. A hard court is usually made of asphalt or concrete that has a layer of padding, which is then covered with paint that has sand mixed in. The more sand you add to the paint, the slower the surface becomes.

Hard courts are usually considered the middle ground between clay and grass; it's a fast surface, but the flat, uniform surface is more predictable without the surprises of a grass or clay court. It's a good surface for a broader range of player styles, according to the ITF. Shift to Slow Play Beginning in the 1990s, tennis fans began to complain that the faster surfaces afforded a more boring tennis-viewing experience, per "The Atlantic." The faster surfaces didn't allow for long, suspenseful rallies, as points usually consisted of a hard serve, followed by a rush to the net, called a serve-and-volley game. Slower surfaces see the players staying put at the baseline, jockeying back and forth for long, drawn-out points. Many ATP tournaments, most notably every Grand Slam event, have slowed down their surface in the past decade. Wimbledon organizers changed the composition of their grass, the Australian Open changed to a slower hard-court surface and the U.S.

Open added more sand to their courts in an effort to slow down play, according to "The Atlantic." Wimbledon: Decline of serve and volley on grass | SI.com Daily Data Viz: The steady decline of the serve and volley Share SI.com Staff Tuesday June 28th, 2016 Since 2002, when the All England Club changed the type of grass surface at Wimbledon, serve and volley has become an endangered species. To help validate this, look at the total serve and volley points played in the men’s final since 2000: The combination of so few tournaments played on fast surfaces and the improvement in racket and string technology has made it very difficult to use serve & volley as a steady tactic. The power, angles and spin that players can generate using the new technology makes volleying extremely tough. These days serve and volley is mostly used as a surprise tactic. Looking at 15 of the last 16 women’s finals at Wimbledon, from 2000 through 2015 (other than the 2006 final where Mauresmo and Henin played 55 serve and volley points), there were five serve and volley points played in those other 14 finals.

Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer combined to play 32 serve and volley points in last year’s men’s final—except all were played by Federer. As a comparison, 14 years earlier in the 2001 final, Ivanisevic and Rafter played 243 serve and volley points. When Federer beat Pete Sampras in the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2001, he served and volleyed 109 times. When he won his first Wimbledon title in 2003 over Philippoussis he served and volleyed 35 times and when he won his last title here in 2012, he served and volleyed 11 times. Players still go to the net; they just prefer to do it behind aggressive groundstrokes. Check SI.com's Wimbledon 2016 Daily Data Viz hub page throughout the whole tournament for the latest data-driven infographics and charts from IBM, the official technology partner for Wimbledon. IBM captures and analyzes the data that powers all of the Grand Slams, as well as the digital platforms that extend the experience to fans around the world.

Tennis Court Surfaces Tennis Equipment & Facilities Court Surfaces Tennis can be played on a myriad of surface types, though they are generally divided into these three categories. Clay court Clay courts are considered as "slow", which means the balls bounces relatively high and more slowly, making is difficult for player to hit an un returnable shot. On clay courts, line calls are easily reviewable because the ball leaves a visible mark. The French Open is played on a Clay court Grass court A court with a grass surface is considered as a "fast" court. It adds an additional element to the game, with variable bounces depending on how healthy the grass is and how recently it has been mowed. Of the major Grand Slam tournaments, the Wimbledon tournament is played on grass court. The Australian Open was until recently played on Grass and the US Open was once played on grass. Hard court The definition of a hardcourt surface encompasses many different surfaces, ranging from old-fashioned concrete courts to coated asphalt to wooden gymnasium surfaces to artificial grass similar to AstroTurf. Hardcourts are also considered as "fast" surfaces, where fast, low bounces keep rallies short, and powerful, hard-serving players have an advantage. The Australian Open and U.S.

Open are played on hardcourts - though both originally used grass courts. Court Surface Speed The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has a scale for measuring the speed of courts. For example, in the medium to medium-fast pace range is a score of between 34 to 38. Differences Between Types of Tennis Court Surfaces | Healthy Living - azcentral.com Differences Between Types of Tennis Court Surfaces by Lisa Bigelow Share on Facebook From the All England Club to your neighborhood high school, tennis courts come in a variety of surfaces. Professional Grand Slam tournaments -- Wimbledon, the US Open, the Australian Open and the French Open -- feature grass, hardcourt and clay surfaces. While the dimensions of each court remain consistent between surfaces, playing styles and ball speed do not. Hardcourt The US and Australian Grand Slam tournaments feature hardcourt surfaces. Typically constructed from plastic or cement, this "fast" surface results in short rallies that favor hard serves, although many professionals consider hardcourt the most democratic of surfaces in terms of playing style. The amount of sand in the topcoat and the type of substrate underneath affect ball speed, and its gripping, sticky surface can increase the likelihood of player injury.

Grass The courts at the All England Tennis Club -- the host of Wimbledon and perhaps the best known professional Grand Slam tennis tournament -- feature grass. Similar in complexion to the golf putting green, the grass surface moves the ball the fastest of every Grand Slam surface because it lets the ball slide. Grass surfaces favor serve-and-volley players who rush the net following serve to take advantage of an opponent's slower foot speed following return. Constant mowing and frequent watering make grass courts expensive to maintain; as a result, they are unusual. Clay The French Open features red clay courts. Comprised of crushed natural materials such as shale or brick, the clay court moves the ball the slowest of all surfaces. Baseline players who shoot with consistency and use heavy spin appreciate the longer points and higher bounces that clay courts accommodate. "American" clay courts -- commonly called Har-Tru -- move the ball more quickly than the traditional red clay courts, but still permit slower volleys. Indoor Courts While every Grand Slam tournament is held outdoors, many players enjoy indoor tennis. Indoor tennis facilities most commonly use carpet surfaces -- such as rubber -- and these surfaces vary greatly in terms of texture and material. Indoor courts also use suspended surfaces, which appear outdoors as well.

The suspended surface helps players avoid knee and ankle stress because of its shock-absorbing qualities, and tennis professionals regard it as a medium-speed surface. Finally, some indoor tennis surfaces use wood. Faster even than grass, wood is the most unusual of all surfaces. References On Tennis: Tennis Courts About the Author Lisa Bigelow is an independent writer with prior professional experience in the finance and fitness industries. She also writes a well-regarded political commentary column published in Fairfield, New Haven and Westchester counties in the New York City metro area. Photo Credits A day in the life: the grass - The Championships, Wimbledon 2017 - Official Site by IBM A day in the life: the grass Sow some seed, give it a quick mow? Oh no, there's a whole lot more to it than that. READ MORE By Sarah Edworthy Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam that has a day free of play in the middle of the tournament. Why? It has nothing to do with old-fashioned British decorum. Nor is it a hangover from the days when everything closed on Sundays and everyone, except emergency workers, had ‘the seventh day’ off to recharge.

The All England Club is closed on Middle Sunday simply to give the courts a breather. It’s all about the grass. “People often ask, ‘Why don’t you play on the Middle Sunday?’, but it’s not about having a day off,” confirms Philip Brook, Chairman of the All England Club. “The main reason is that it gives the groundsmen the only opportunity to put a proper amount of water on the courts to get them ready for the second week.” So while the players go into competitive 'pause mode', head groundsman Neil Stubley and his team of 28 are in at dawn to tend to the precious grass. The finishing touches for 2015 Before the thirsty courts are refreshed and revitalised with a scientifically determined and finely judged amount of water, the ground staff also make the most of middle Sunday to wield a machine known as the Billy Goat over the worn T-shape on each side of the net – predominantly the baseline and the path to the net via the centre service line. This hoovers up debris that has been scuffed up by the players’ feet from the first six days of play.

54m Grass plants used on Centre Court Such a show of TLC and pampering is not surprising when you consider it takes 15 months to prepare the dense sward that is a Championships-standard grass court before it can be played on. Only then has the carpet of grass and its seedbed settled to a firmness that can endure the battering a 13-day Grand Slam will inflict. Last year, for instance, a total of 3,177 hours of tennis from 654 matches were played on all 41 courts (19 Championship courts and 22 practice ones). Centre Court alone – which owes its green surface to 54 million single grass plants - hosted 77 hours of play. The nurturing of the grass at Wimbledon goes through more phases in a calendar year than Bethanie Mattek-Sands has fashion fads. Like the players on their relentless Tour cycle, the grass needs time to adjust to peak tournament readiness. From March onwards, the emerald shoots gets trimmed a millimetre a week every fortnight from its luxuriant winter height of 13 millimetres down to the optimum playing level of 8mm.

That mark is reached almost four weeks before the first ball is struck to let the 100 per cent rye grass adjust to the stress before the trampling-by-players begins. I am The Grass The courts are tournament ready with requisite firmness two weeks before The Championships start and held in limbo. Every day during the tournament, the ground staff mow the courts to maintain the height of the grass at exactly 8mm and mark out the lines. An independent turf consultant measures the surface’s hardness, its chlorophyll index and its live grass content. This determines the precise amount of water that gets sprayed on the grass at night to boost its survival process. And so on until the tournament end. Then there truly is a week of rest before the process of preparing the courts for the 2016 Championships begins seven days after this year's tournament ends. Each Championship court will be skimmed of 12mm of whatever is still growing on its surface. This is to eradicate all weak and weed grasses and re-establish an even level where play has worn the surface. Ground staff till the seedbed, lay new seed (approximately one tonne per year), feed with fertiliser and cover for up to week to regulate heat and moisture.

Autumn mowing helps firm the surface and level the grass growth before each court is treated to a top-dressing of fine soil and dragged to maintain a perfect level. Preparation re-intensifies in spring with a spraying programme to help with plant growth, durability, colour and root development. And then it’s back to trim, trim, water and rest... The Championships, Wimbledon The Championships, Wimbledon US Open The Championships, Wimbledon, commonly referred to as Wimbledon, is the oldest major championship in tennis . Held annually between late June and the beginning of July for two weeks (usually ending, at the latest, on the second Sunday of July) at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London , England , the tournament is the third Grand Slam event played each year, preceded by the Australian Open and the French Open , and followed by the U.S. Open . The tournament duration is subject to extensions for rain. Separate tournaments are simultaneously held, all at the same venue, for Gentlemen's Singles, Ladies' Singles, Gentlemen's Doubles, Ladies' Doubles and Mixed Doubles. Youth tournaments – Boys' Singles, Girls' Singles, Boys' Doubles and Girls' Doubles – are also held.

Additionally, special invitational tournaments are held: the 35 and over Gentlemen's Doubles, 45 and over Gentlemen's Doubles, 35 and over Ladies' Doubles and wheelchair doubles. History Sébastien Grosjean takes a shot on Court 18 during the 2004 championships The Championships were first played under the control of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in 1877 at a ground near Worple Road, Wimbledon; the only event held was Gentlemen's Singles. In 1884 , the All England Club added Ladies' Singles and Gentlemen's Doubles. Ladies' Doubles and Mixed Doubles were added in 1913 . The Championships moved to their present location, at a ground near Church Road, in 1922 . As with the other three Grand Slam events, Wimbledon was contested by top-ranked amateur players until the advent of the open era in tennis in 1968.

Britons are very proud of the tournament, though it is a source of national anguish and humour – no British man has won the singles event at Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936 , and no British woman since Virginia Wade in 1977 . The Championship was first televised in 1937. Events There are five main events held at Wimbledon: Gentlemen's Singles, Ladies' Singles, Gentlemen's Doubles, Ladies' Doubles and Mixed Doubles. In addition, four events are held for juniors: Boys' Singles, Girls' Singles, Boys' Doubles and Girls' Doubles. (The Mixed Doubles event is not held at the junior level.) Finally, four invitational events are held: the 35 and over Gentlemen's Invitation Doubles, the 45 and over Gentlemen's Invitation Doubles, the 35 and over Ladies' Invitation Doubles and the Wheelchair Gentlemen's Invitation Doubles. Matches in the Gentlemen's Singles and Gentlemen's Doubles competitions are best-of-five sets; matches in all other events are best-of-three sets.

Most events are single-elimination tournaments; in other words, a player who loses a single match is immediately eliminated from the tournament. However, the 35 and over Gentlemen's Invitation Doubles and the 35 and over Ladies' Invitation Doubles are both round-robin tournaments. Up through 1921, the winners of the previous year's competition (except in the Ladies Doubles and Mixed Doubles) were automatically granted byes into the final round (then known as the challenge round). This led to many winners retaining their titles for successive years, as they were able to rest while their opponent competed from the start of the competition. From 1922, the title holders played through from the start of the championships. Each year, the tournament begins on the Monday falling between 20 and 26 June (six weeks before the first Monday in August). It is held two weeks after the Queen's Club Championships, which are considered the major warm-up period for Wimbledon for male players. Another important warm-up tournament for the men is the Gerry Weber Open, which is held in Halle, Germany at about the same time as the Queen's Club Championships.

The other grass-court male tournaments before the Championships are currently 's-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands (which also organises an event for women), and Nottingham in Britain. To adapt to the fast green surface there are also two more competitions for women, the places to host these are Birmingham and Eastbourne (both in the UK). Wimbledon usually lasts for two weeks; the main events span both weeks, but the junior and invitational events are for the most part held during the second week. Traditionally, there is no play on the "Middle Sunday", which is considered a rest day. However, rain has forced play on the Middle Sunday three times in the Championship's history: in 1991 , 1997 , and 2004 . On each of these occasions, Wimbledon has staged a "People's Sunday", with unreserved seating and readily available, inexpensive tickets, allowing those with more limited means to sit on the show courts. Additionally, if the tournament is not completed by the end of the second Sunday, all the remaining matches are postponed until "People's Monday".

The grass-court season comes to an end each year after the Championships, when the short tournament of Newport invites male players to its grounds in the U.S. Players and seeding A total of 128 players feature in each singles event, 64 pairs in each single-sex doubles event, and 48 pairs in Mixed Doubles. Players and doubles pairs are admitted to the main events on the basis of their international rankings, with consideration also given to their previous performances at grasscourt events. Currently (since 2001) 32 male and female players are given seedings in the Gentlemen's and Ladies' singles while 16 teams are seeded in the doubles events. The Committee of Management and the Referee evaluate all applications for entry, and determine which players may be admitted to the tournament directly. The committee may admit a player without a high enough ranking as a wild card. Usually, wild cards are players who have performed well during previous tournaments, or would stimulate public interest in Wimbledon by participating. The only wild card to win the Gentlemen's Singles Championship was Goran Ivanišević ( 2001 ).

Players and pairs who neither have high enough rankings nor receive wild cards may participate in a qualifying tournament held one week before Wimbledon at the Bank of England Sports Ground in Roehampton. The singles qualifying competitions are three-round events; the same-sex doubles competitions last for only one round. There is no qualifying tournament for Mixed Doubles. No qualifier has won either the Gentlemen's Singles or the Ladies' Singles tournaments. The furthest that any qualifier has progressed in the main draw of a Singles tournament is the semi-final round: John McEnroe in 1977 and Vladimir Voltchkov of Belarus in 2000 (Gentlemen's Singles), and Alexandra Stevenson in 1999 (Ladies' Singles). Players are admitted to the junior tournaments upon the recommendations of their national tennis associations, on their International Tennis Federation world rankings and, in the case of the singles events, on the basis of a qualifying competition. The Committee of Management determines which players may enter the four invitational events. The Committee seeds the top players and pairs (thirty-two players in each main singles events, and sixteen pairs in each main doubles event) on the basis of their rankings.

However, the Committee does also change the seedings due to a player's previous grass court performance. A majority of the entrants are unseeded. Only two unseeded players have ever won the Gentlemen's Singles Championship: Boris Becker in 1985 and Goran Ivanišević in 2001 . (In 1985 there were only sixteen seeds - Becker was ranked 20th at the time; Ivanišević, however, was as low as 125th.) No unseeded player has captured the Ladies' Singles title; the lowest seeded female champion was Venus Williams, who won in 2007 as the twenty-third seed, beating her own record from 2005, when Williams won as the fourteenth seed. Unseeded pairs have won the doubles titles on numerous occasions; the 2005 Gentlemen's Doubles champions were not only unseeded, but also (for the first time ever) qualifier. Grounds The order of play for all courts is displayed on boards around the grounds The nineteen courts used for Wimbledon are all composed purely of rye grass.

The speed of 100% rye grass is much slower than the 80% rye grass mix previously used for the courts. This means that serve and volley players are no longer dominant on the surface which now favours baseliners, and has seen Wimbledon fall from being the fastest Grand Slam to the 3rd fastest, behind the U.S. Open and Australian Open. Among women, the serve and volley strategy has been less common since around 1980. The main show courts, Centre Court and No. 1 Court, are normally used only for two weeks a year, during the Championships, but play can extend into a third week in exceptional circumstances. The remaining seventeen courts are regularly used for other events hosted by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. The show courts will, however, be pressed into action for the second time in three months in 2012 as Wimbledon will host the tennis events of the 2012 Olympic Games. Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam event played on grass courts. At one time, all the other Grand Slam events were played on grass. The French Open abandoned grass for its current red clay in 1928 , while the U.S.

and Australian Opens stayed with grass for decades longer. The U.S. Open abandoned grass for a synthetic clay surface in 1975 and changed again to a hard surface ( DecoTurf) with its 1978 move to its current venue. The Australian Open abandoned grass for Rebound Ace, a different type of hard surface, in 1988 , and switched to yet another type of hard surface, Plexicushion, in 2008. The main court, Centre Court, was opened in 1922 when the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club moved from Worple Road to Church Road. This change of venue was due to the huge crowd pressure at Worple Road to see the French phenomenon Suzanne Lenglen, and for which it proved completely inadequate. Due to possibility of rain during Wimbledon, a retractable roof is planned for the court, which is expected to be completed in 2009. The retractable roof is said to be designed to close/open in under 10 minutes and will be closed primarily to protect play from inclement (and, if necessary, extremely hot) weather during The Championships.

Also, during the time of its opening/closing, play will be suspended. The court has a capacity of almost 14,000. At its south end is the Royal Box, from which members of the Royal Family and other dignitaries watch matches. Centre Court usually hosts the finals and semifinals of the main events, as well as many matches in the earlier rounds involving top-seeded players or local favourites. No.1 Court The second most important court is No. 1 Court. The court was constructed in 1997 to replace the old No. 1 Court, which was adjacent to Centre Court. The old No. 1 Court was demolished because its capacity for spectators was too low. The court was said to have had a unique, more intimate atmosphere and was a favourite of many players. The new No. 1 Court has a capacity of approximately 11,000. The third-largest court, No. 2 Court, has been dubbed the "Graveyard of Champions" due to its reputation as the court on which many seeded players have been eliminated during the early rounds.

Famous players who have lost on the Graveyard during early round play include John McEnroe , Boris Becker , Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras , Martina Hingis, Venus Williams, and Serena Williams. The court has a capacity of about 3,000. There are plans to build a brand new 4,000 capacity No. 2 Court where No. 13 Court currently stands in time for the 2009 Championships. At the northern end of the grounds is a giant television screen on which important matches are broadcast. Fans watch from an area of grass officially known as the Aorangi Terrace, but more commonly called Henman Hill. The "hill" takes its name from local favourite Tim Henman , who many fans once hoped would become the first British man to win the tournament since Fred Perry did so in 1936 .

When other British players do well at Wimbledon, the hill attracts fans for them, and is often re-named by the press for them: Greg Rusedski's followers convened at "Rusedski Ridge", and the young Scotsman Andy Murray has had the hill nicknamed "Murray Mound", "Mount Murray", or "Murray Field" (after the Scottish rugby stadium). Traditions Court 10 - on the outside courts there is no reserved seating Evening on the first Friday of the 2004 championships Colours and uniforms Dark green and purple (sometimes also referred to as mauve) are the traditional Wimbledon colours. Green clothing was worn by the chair umpire, linesmen, ball boys and ball girls through the 2005 Championships; however, beginning with the 2006 Championships, officials, ball boys and ball girls were outfitted in new navy blue and cream coloured uniforms from American designer Ralph Lauren. This marked the first time in the history of the Championships that an outside company was used to design Wimbledon clothing. As of June 2006, Wimbledon's contract with Ralph Lauren is set to last until 2009.

Players The All England Club requires players to wear "almost entirely white" clothing during matches (used as an excuse by a young Andre Agassi for not playing the tournament in 1990, although his decision may have had more to do with his game at the time being unsuited to grass; he later won the competition). No other Grand Slam tournament has such a strict dress code for players. During matches, female players are always referred to by the title "Miss" or "Mrs"; married female players were formally referred to by their husband's names: for example, Chris Evert-Lloyd appeared on scoreboards as "Mrs. J. M. Lloyd" during her marriage to John M. Lloyd. This custom has been abandoned; the title "Mr" is never used for male players. Royal Family Previously, players bowed or curtsied to members of the Royal Family seated in the Royal Box upon entering or leaving Centre Court. In 2003 , however, the President of the All England Club, HRH The Duke of Kent, decided to discontinue the tradition. Now, players are required to bow or curtsy only if the Queen or the Prince of Wales is present.

Strawberries and cream For the spectators, strawberries and cream is the traditional snack at Wimbledon. Approximately 62,000 pounds of strawberries and 1,540 gallons of cream are sold each year during the Championships. Radio Wimbledon Since 1992, Radio Wimbledon – an on-site radio station with a studio in the Centre Court building – has broadcast commentary, music and speech from 8am to 10pm daily throughout the championship. They also broadcast the draw on the Friday prior to the start of the tournament. Radio Wimbledon can be heard within a five-mile radius on 87.7 FM, and also online. It operates under a Restricted Service License and is arguably the most sophisticated RSL annually in the UK. The main presenters are Sam Lloyd and Nick Dye. Typically they work alternate four hour shifts. Reporters and commentators include Gigi Salmon, Nick Lestor, Rupert Bell, Nigel Bidmead, Guy Swindells, Lucie Ahl, Nadine Towell and Helen Whitaker. Often they will report from the "Crow's Nest", an elevated building housing the court 2 and 3 scoreboards which affords views of most of the outside courts.

Regular guests include Sue Mappin. In recent years Radio Wimbledon acquired a second low-power FM frequency (within the grounds only) of 96.3 FM for uninterrupted Centre Court commentary, and, from 2006, a third for coverage from No. 1 Court on 97.8 FM. Hourly news bulletins and travel (using RDS) are also broadcast. Television Coverage For over 60 years, the BBC has broadcast the tournament on television in the UK, splitting time for the many matches it covers between its two main terrestrial channels, BBC One and BBC Two. During the days of British Satellite Broadcasting, its sports channel carried extra coverage of Wimbledon for subscribers, and the BBC annually distributes its commercial-free feed to outlets worldwide. Americans have made a tradition of NBC's "Breakfast at Wimbledon" specials on the weekends, where live coverage starts early in the morning (the US being a minimum of 5 hours behind the UK) and continues well into the afternoon, interspersed with commentary and interviews from Bud Collins, whose tennis acumen and (in)famous patterned trousers are well-known to tennis fans in the USA.

Collins was fired by NBC in 2007, but was promptly hired by ESPN, the cable home for The Championships in the States. Wimbledon was also involved, unintentionally, in a piece of television history, on 1 July 1967 . That was when the first, official, colour broadcast took place in the UK. Four hours live coverage of Wimbledon was shown on BBC2 (then the only colour channel in the UK), and although footage of that historic match no longer survives, the men's final that year is still held in the BBC archives, for it was the first men's final transmitted in colour. From 2007, the most anticipated Wimbledon matches are transmitted in High Definition, on the BBC's free-to-air channel BBC HD, with continual live coverage during the tournament of Centre Court and Court No. 1 as well as an evening highlight show ( Today at Wimbledon). Tickets Wimbledon is the only major grand slam where fans without tickets for play that day can queue up and still get seats on Centre Court, Court 1 and Court 2. Usually there are 2 queues and each are allotted about 250 seats for each court.

Fans are handed vouchers when they arrive in their queue with a number on it and the following morning when the line moves towards the Grounds, stewards come through the line and hand out wristbands that are colour coded to the specific court. The voucher is then redeemed at the ticket office for the ticket. To get into the show courts, fans will normally have to queue overnight at Wimbledon. This is done by fans from all over the world and is considered part of the Wimbledon experience in itself. Tennis enthusiasts planning to queue overnight for the Championships are advised to bring along a tent and a sleeping bag. Times to queue up vary according to the weather, but anyone queueing up before 9PM on a weekday should be able to get a show court ticket. Queuing for the show courts end after the quarter finals have been completed. Trophies and prize money The Ladies' (top) and Gentlemen's singles trophies. The Gentlemen's Singles champion receives a silver gilt cup 18.5 inches (about 47 cm) in height and 7.5 inches (about 19 cm) in diameter.

The trophy has been awarded since 1887 and bears the inscription: "The All England Lawn Tennis Club Single Handed Champion of the World." The Ladies' Singles champion receives a sterling silver salver commonly known as the " Venus Rosewater Dish", or simply the "Rosewater Dish". The salver, which is 18.75 inches (about 48 cm) in diameter, is decorated with figures from mythology. The winners of the Gentlemen's Doubles, Ladies' Doubles, and Mixed Doubles events receive silver cups. The runner-up in each event receives an inscribed silver plate. The trophies are usually presented by the President of the All England Club, The Duke of Kent, and by his wife, the Duchess of Kent. At Wimbledon, more prize money was traditionally awarded in the Gentlemen's events than in the Ladies' events. However, as of 2007 prize money is equal at all levels (in part in response to a powerful protest by tennis player Venus Williams). This makes Wimbledon policy identical to that of the Australian Open, US Open, and most recently the French Open.

In 2005, Wimbledon prize money exceeded a total of £10 million (£10,085,510) total for the first time. The sums awarded to the winners of each of the main events in 2007 are as follows (the amounts shown for the doubles events are per pair): Gentlemen's Singles Winner £700,000 (US $1,408,181.53) Ladies' Singles Winner £700,000 (US $1,408,181.53) Gentlemen's Doubles Winners £222,900 (US $448,405.23) Ladies' Doubles Winners £222,900 (US $448,405.23) Mixed Doubles Winners £90,000 (US $181,051.91) This was the first year that both the Gentlemen's and Ladies' Singles had the same prize money. Total prize money at Wimbledon 2007 was nearly 9% more than in 2006.

Champions Roger Federer at the 2005 championships Among the four major titles, Wimbledon is the one that generates the most anxiety for the British. This is due to the fact that not only has no British player won a Wimbledon singles title since 1977, but no Brit has even been in the singles finals since then. Therefore, all the British (especially the English) usually will rally around a single countryman to bring back the glory. In the recent past, the retired Tim Henman was the most prominent hope. Andy Murray has become the next hope to rally around. Gentlemen's Singles

Question: On what type of surface is the Wimbledon tournament held?
Answer: Grass